Lancer wrote:Seeing all the back-and-forth about Edler reminded me of another ex-Canuck - 'ole Jovo-cop. Is it me, or are there some similarities between the two? Both are capable of solid defence but suffer head-smacking brain-farts. Both can move the puck and have howitzer shots. High-risk/high-reward - except their personalities could not be more different. How much was Jovo making at his peak? Just sayin...

I don't get all this Edler bashing. What do you want him to do besides lead the team in points, ninth in league defenseman points,and used an average of 25 min. a game? Christ hes probably underpaid.

I whole-heartedly agree. Edler is probably never going to be that elite at pretty much everything defender that so many fans dream about, but he's good at a lot of things and neither his paycheque nor his cap hit (even when the new deal kicks in) nor his usage by the coaching staff suggests he has to be that player.

Just like it's unfair to judge every winger we get over 6'2 and 200 lbs by high water mark left by Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Edler is simply not going to be Shea Weber (or Nick Lidstrom, or..).

He's just going to be an imperfect offensive defenseman who is still better cap value that the majority of his UFA comparables.

BladesofSteel wrote:But if you want to compare his game to that of the aforementioned three, allowing him to develop on the wing might be his best recipe for success moving forward.

Agreed that the wing might be the best place for Schroeder long term. A line of Booth/Kesler/Schroeder might be a nice mix, but at this point I would prefer Schroeder center the 3rd line instead of Burrows or Lapierre.

As far as Edler is concerned, he is similar to the rest of our defense core. He's a very good player, with strong positives and some blemishes. If they were all perfectly rounded defenders, we would be forking our $8M each and have four Shea Webers.

Overall, I like very much what Edler brings to the table. Do I wish he could tighten up on his defensive game? Yes, of course, the Eberle goal from the first Edmonton game immediately comes to mind as a play that Edler should have been able to cut off, but I also appreciate that he's one of the highest scoring defensemen in the league (currently tied for the Canucks points lead for all skaters). Offensive hockey usually comes with some risk that defense will suffer, at least somewhat.

BladesofSteel wrote:
As far as Edler is concerned, he is similar to the rest of our defense core. He's a very good player, with strong positives and some blemishes. If they were all perfectly rounded defenders, we would be forking our $8M each and have four Shea Webers.

Overall, I like very much what Edler brings to the table. Do I wish he could tighten up on his defensive game? Yes, of course, the Eberle goal from the first Edmonton game immediately comes to mind as a play that Edler should have been able to cut off, but I also appreciate that he's one of the highest scoring defensemen in the league (currently tied for the Canucks points lead for all skaters). Offensive hockey usually comes with some risk that defense will suffer, at least somewhat.

Agreed that Edler is no Shea Weber nor Lidstrom. However, Edler's defensive game has lots of room to improve. Personally, I would not mind him scoring less points as long as he is defensively solid.

Also, having both Edler and Bieksa out on the same shift was a bad idea. Both of them could make mistakes which end up having the puck in our own net.

Lancer wrote:Seeing all the back-and-forth about Edler reminded me of another ex-Canuck - 'ole Jovo-cop. Is it me, or are there some similarities between the two? Both are capable of solid defence but suffer head-smacking brain-farts. Both can move the puck and have howitzer shots. High-risk/high-reward - except their personalities could not be more different. How much was Jovo making at his peak? Just sayin...

I don't get all this Edler bashing. What do you want him to do besides lead the team in points, ninth in league defenseman points,and used an average of 25 min. a game? Christ hes probably underpaid.

I whole-heartedly agree. Edler is probably never going to be that elite at pretty much everything defender that so many fans dream about, but he's good at a lot of things and neither his paycheque nor his cap hit (even when the new deal kicks in) nor his usage by the coaching staff suggests he has to be that player.

Just like it's unfair to judge every winger we get over 6'2 and 200 lbs by high water mark left by Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Edler is simply not going to be Shea Weber (or Nick Lidstrom, or..).

He's just going to be an imperfect offensive defenseman who is still better cap value that the majority of his UFA comparables.

Actually, I don't know if or why people took what I said as Edler-bashing. Personally, I had a soft-spot for Special-Ed because he was what he was and he contributed a lot. He was making a fair chunk of change compared to his peers at his peak, much as Edler is now. I think a key difference is I think Edler still has some room to improve. With the amount of teams crying for defencemen right now and considering what Edler brings, I'd be happy to keep him - as long as AV finds a good partner for him (still think it's Garrison once he gets his head around the Canucks' system) and manages the guy's minutes.

Just nobody should be blamed for venting their spleen a bit when he has a brain-fart.

What frustrates me about Edler is hitting seems to be gone except for brief moments in a game. His calmness with the puck comes and goes. he seems sometimes to still act like a rookie instead of the vet that he is.